Body of Missing Passenger Recovered on Fifth Day of Ferry Disaster

The search for people missing from the Filo Jet, which capsized and sank while operating on the Kyrenia-Taşucu route, is continuing on its sixth day.

Relatives of those still missing continue to wait anxiously at the entrance to Kyrenia Tourism Port.

After the body of another missing passenger was recovered yesterday, the death toll rose to nine, while the number of people still missing fell to 19.

Search operations continued throughout the night, but no official announcement had been made by the morning regarding the recovery of another person.

Wreck Located

President Tufan Erhürman announced Wednesday that search teams had reached the vessel after the object detected at a depth of approximately 550 metres was confirmed to be the wreck of the Filo Jet passenger ferry.

Erhürman said TCG Alemdar had also reached the area following TCG Işın and that imaging and search operations were continuing uninterrupted on a 24-hour basis.

Due to the depth at which the wreck is located, the operation is being conducted using underwater robots and specialised technical systems.

Another Body Recovered

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel said yesterday that the body of another male passenger, believed to be around 50 years old, had been recovered from among the 20 people previously listed as missing.

The body was taken to Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital in Nicosia for identification.

With the latest recovery, the death toll rose to nine and the number of people being searched for fell to 19.

As part of the technical investigation into the cause of the accident, Durali İşler, Head of the Maritime Accident Investigation Department at Turkey’s Transportation Safety Investigation Centre, under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, arrived in the TRNC with a technical delegation.

Üstel said a preliminary report would be prepared as soon as possible following the technical investigations.